deeply divided over the war. it provides details of president obama's top advisers quarrelling, some doubting the president's strategy will work. the book is due out next week. joining me now is lawrence o'donnell, host of "the last word" which premiers next monday on msnbc. thanks for joining me, lawrence. i got to talk to you here because as a daughter of a man who was a master sergeant in the army, when you hear in this book of the infighting, one shouldn't be surprised, but it is unnerving when you think about the lives. 100,000 lives that are over there fighting this war. >> having been in those rooms, both in the white house and the congress, in these kinds of governing meetings, for me, never about military issues. always about domestic policy. i'm actually encouraged by this. i want the decision-makers on war to be passionate about what they're working on, to feel very strongly about their positions. i mean, imagine if what we were

reading was a group of undecideds who were very gentlemanly and polite to each other and not really coming at it with a perspective based on their own experience. you know, richard holbrooke delivers a strong perspective in here, which is different from the military perspective, and i'm glad that both of those are in the same room. i'm glad that they let each other know what they think. >> you know, as i say, all is fair in love and war. that perhaps is true. but the book talks about something that's been discussed certainly on cable news. the president may have been boxed in by his generals. is that a good part of the conversation if the president, the man in charge, feels that he's being trapped in a no-win situation? >> the president is given options packages on every single governing choice he makes. he's never, ever, given all of them, whetheri it's about medicare -- everything is never on the table. they are aware of that. they know when they're getting

these options packages that the military has a certain view that they're trying to push him toward. they also know it when those options packages are coming in on domestic governing. that's what the vice president is for. that's what the president's own staff is for, for having their own private discussion after those presentations to say, in effect, what is this part of our bureaucracy not telling us? i am untroubled by the kinds of cross-fire that i'm reading in this book. >> untroubled and not surprised? >> not surprised in the least. but, look, the thing that remains fascinating is how does bob woodward do this? i mean, he gets in there. he gave us the first book on this war "bush at war" and he got all of this material about the bush administration approaching the afghan war and there was very little disagreement in that. he also gave us the next book about the bush administration approach to the iraq war. >> right. >> you don't find this kind of disagreement in that as they were marching towards something they could not do in iraq.

>> i want to read -- >> the plan didn't work. >> i want to read something from this book. it says the president was frustrated with his commanders asking for more troops. i can't let this be a war without end. i can't lose the whole democratic party. >> yeah. the way i read that is the congress has control of our war-making powers through the purse if they want to exercise it. if i lose the democratic party, we are not going to be able to fund the war that you, general petraeus, want to run. so you cannot ignore this. you don't get -- you, petraeus, don't get to write the check for funding this war. and so it is a perfectly practical and sensible factor to bring in. and in a democracy, to say i need voter support for what we're doing in warfare is exactly the approach. >> but he doesn't have voter support for this war. >> yeah. it's -- what's fascinating about

it, like the bush tax cut issue, is he's saying -- he's doing what he said he was going to do in the campaign. people voted for this. now he's doing it. and now people aren't so sure that that's what they want. >> lawrence, we appreciate you coming on. i know you're heavily at work. your whole team waiting for you to get off set and get back to work. >> in full-fledged panic as 10:00 p.m. monday approaches. >> i'll be watching. congratulations, lawrence. if you don't know the news, "the last word" premiers next monday, 10:00 p.m. eastern, right here on msnbc. i have a party planned. we'll have a party watching for lawrence. in less than an hour, president obama heads for new york, where he will address a u.n. conference this afternoon. the president speaks before the general assembly tomorrow, hours before iran's president, mahmoud ahamadinejad, speaks. mike, i want to start off with the big news regarding rahm emanuel. he may be leaving as early as october, before the midterms.

what can you tell me that you've uncovered about this story. >> tamarin, it's interesting. if news is the unexpected, rahm emmanuel not leaving would be bigger news. the president to his fellow chicago native david alexrod has said, here's your hat, what's your hurry? he will run for mayor daly's seat next year. of course, daly announced a couple of weeks ago he's retiring. if you count back from a november 22nd deadline where he's got to have the petitions in that would allow him to get on the ballot, he doesn't have that much time. >> right. >> you also look at the fact that the elections for congress are coming up, just after that -- or that would be too late to wait all the way until then. so people are back-timing it. they're looking at early october as the most logical time. he would announce his departure and a run for mayor. i had a tanchance, tamarin -- in

into him at the park. he was coming back from an appointment. he was kind of disdainful of the way the media is handling this today. everybody is saying he may do this or that. really, we already knew that. to treat it as breaking news was something that he didn't have a lot of high praise for, the way it's being reported today. but it's pretty much status quo. it's certainly not untrue that he may leave sometime in mid to early october to go pursue this mayorship of chicago. >> back to the president's busy agenda today. he's in another backyard, this time talking about health care. as we said at the top of the hour, the president is trying to convince americans of the health care reform. you still have democrats avoiding the topic before the midterm elections, mike. >> well, and that's absolutely true. that's another irony. everybody not when they voted in march this would be an attribute that democrats could run on. the only people running on it is republicans at this point. the 35 democrats who voted against it are bragging about

the fact they voted against it. six months on, there are new provisions that kick in. limited insurance coverage is eliminated starting tomorrow. children can't be denied coverage for preexisting conditions. that's been a point of controversy. some insurance companies say they're not going to cover children at all. and young adults will be allowed to stay on their parents' plan until they turn 26. here's what the president had to say at that backyard little town hall -- mini town hall in falls church, virginia. >> we are now actually able to provide some help to the american people. that will take effect tomorrow is the -- the most important patient's bill of rights that we've ever seen in our history. >> and so the president trying to keep it up. you're right, you reported he heads this afternoon to the united nations. he'll address the general assembly later today.

it's an anti-poverty conference. >> thank you, mike. speaking of health care reform, already big insurance companies, some of them, may be finding loopholes to skirt the new health care reform law. in fact, some major companies have decided to stop selling policies for children, rather than comply with part of the new law. they could be doing this by thursday. joining me now is wendell potter, an insurance industry whistle-blower and a former insurance executive for signa. t it looks like some companies plan to halt the new child only policies in california, illinois, florida, connecticut, and elsewhere. as i mentioned, as early as thursday. did anyone see this coming? >> you know, i think probably no one saw it coming, but it's not surprising. these companies have in mind their profits. they want to make sure they're meeting their shareholders' expectations. most of those you mentioned are for-profit companies. and they are more beholden to wall street than to their customers.

>> so this new action, if they go through with it, would apply only to new coverage sought for children and not existing child-only plans. is there anything in the new law that would prevent them from being able to do this? >> no, there isn't. the law doesn't take effect. that provision doesn't take effect until tomorrow. that's really what's going on. they are doing this. there's -- i think the only thing that would keep them from doing this is just moral outrage, that this is what they are doing and how they're treating their customers, which is exactly what they said they would not do, at least what the trade association was trying to -- leading us to believe when the president signed the bill, that they would be doing all they could to comply with the law. now we're seeing their true colors. >> speaking of true colors, in your experience being a whistle-blower, actually working for an insurance company, what does this say? what is the larger message here that already they're looking and obviously have been if they're willing to do it by thursday, they didn't start thinking about it on monday. >> no, they didn't. they've been thinking about this for a long time.

they were planning to do this at the very beginning of the signing of the bill. they saw this coming. they waited until the 11th hour to announce it because they didn't want to give the administration or anyone else enough time to call them on it. >> and they say this is to -- that the new reform created a huge and unexpected cost for covering children. what do you say to that excuse, that these insurers are citing? >> that's utter nonsense. they're thinking more about their own profits than about the health and wellbeing of our children. kids will die as a result of this. they need to know this. they need to understand this. they need to realize the consequences of their actions here. >> wendell potter, thank you for joining us. a lot of people will be talking about this. what do you think about idea that major insurance companies would stop selling health insurance policies to children? let me know. twitter.msnbc.com. we'll pick out a tweet of the day. eight current and former officials from bell, california, face a judge today.

they are accused of bilking millions of dollars from city coff coffers. the mayor, the ex-city manager and six current and former officials from the l.a. suburb were arrested tuesday. a new audit released by the state controller's office shows that city of bell mismanaged more than $50 million in bond money. residents actually celebrated when they heard the group of eight would face their day in court. america's top security leaders say it's now harder to find and stop home-grown terrorists. that was one of the rev lashzs from a senate hearing just today. the nation's top security officials including homeland security secretary janet napolitano and robert mueller appeared today before a committee to talk about where we stand and what can be done. pete williams joins us now from washington. pete, if this problem exists and it's harder to find, why? what's going on here? why is it more difficult to find these people? >> that was the interesting

thing about the hearing today, tamarin. what they say is that the terror groups are moving away from the big complex, long-term planning operations that resulted in 9/11 with a lot of people. they're moving to quicker operations that are less complicated, fewer people involved, a shorter planning period. and, therefore, there's a smaller window during which the u.s. has the ability to detect and disrupt them. here's the way secretary napolitano described the issue. >> homeland security, in fact, begins with home town security. so we're working with a variety of recommendations made by a working group of our homeland security advisory council to aid local law enforcement in this effort. >> and director muller, bob muller, the director of the fbi, said there is a bright spot here, that more islamic organizations in the u.s. are willing to help, but he acknowledged the overall problem as well.

>> all right, pete williams. thank you, pete. >> okay. scandal rocks a mega church and the popular bishop who runs it. details on that coming up in a live report. plus, a new book discloses a new reason for the tragic sinking of the titanic, or a new theory y should say. a family's titanic secret revealed. and michele norris shares her family's struggle with racism. ♪ [ male announcer ] ever have morning pain slow you down? introducing bayer am, an extra strength pain reliever with alertness aid to fight fatigue. so get up and get goin'! with new bayer am. the morning pain reliever. you could switch for great gas mileage or seats that flip and fold with one hand. you could switch for up to 600

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a wild police chase in florida ends with three men under arrest. it started this morning in coral springs when police spotted a suspicious car. officers tried to pull over the car. it sped off. police say the suspects were sometimes driving as fast as 90 miles an hour.

look at that. the chase finally ended in the next county. when a police cruiser tapped the car's bumper, forcing the car to lose control, one of the men ran from the vehicle. officers tased him. they were able to arrest him, as well as two others. quite a squecene there. well, a mistake of titanic proportions. a new book offers new details and theories about the fateful night that ship sunk in the atlanta. the book's author says her grandfather was an officer on the ship, and she says he followed the wrong directions accidentally, steering the ship directly into the iceberg. well, just a month ago, kerry sanders embarked on an expedition to see the titanic. he joins us. is this based in fact? is it fiction? what's going on here? >> well, the author says this is a long-held family secret, that the second officer, charles lighttower, who was her grandfather, kept this a secret. now, let's first of all explain how something like this might be

possible. in today's world, when we think about driving a car, we turn the steering wheel to the right, to the left, to the left. same thing on a boat today. but back in the 1900s, 1912 when the titanic went down, they had just recently moved from a system where there were no steering wheels but there were tillers with rudders. don't make fun of my prop here. this is a tiller with a -- with a rudder. what you would do, if you push it to the right, you turn to the left. if you pull it to the left, you turn to the right. that makes sense if you've ever been on a boat that didn't have a steering wheel. now, when they started moving to steering wheels, when you'd turn it to the right, the boat would go to the left. and if you turned it to the left, the boat would go to the right. now, in today's world, that seems very confusing. but back in the early 1900s, that's the way they did it. they had just transitioned from this. so when the iceberg was on the

right-hand side or the starboard side and they said hard to starboard, they turned the wheel to the right to turn to the left. what the book's author suggests is that when the man who was at the steering wheel of the vessel heard "hard to starboard" he confused it and turned it the wrong direction, turning it to the left, making the boat go to the right, and steering the titanic right into the iceberg and sinking. now, some of this has been discussed before, but never in such great detail as now presented in this book. as she says in her book, this was a family secret that her grandfather, who was the second officer, passed down. and the reason he did not reveal it, because his fear was that the white star line, the company that owned the vessel that eventually -- the titanic went down and white star became kunard. the fear was that this would

bankrupt the company. some experts say this is all hooey. others say this is a very interesting theory and one that happens to come out at a time when we're very close to the 100th anniversary. >> terry, you did an amazing job explaining that, especially because most of it is quite confusing and difficult to understand. but you lost me with your prop. i have to be honest with you. i'm wondering why you couldn't call james cameron, get a couple of bucks, and illustrate it -- >> i went down to the little 3rd grade class and i asked them if they could do a better job. >> that's the most busted prop i've seen in my life. but you did it with class and grace. i appreciate the effort. i'll just read the book now. >> it's the budget cuts. what can i say? >> that's a terrible thing, kerry. thank you very much. i appreciate it. the first lady set to hit the campaign trail asñi the midterm elections draw near. could michelle obama be the secret weapon the democrats have been hoping for?

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until the combination of three good probiotics in phillips' colon health defended against the bad gas, diarrhea and constipation. ...and? it helped balance her colon. oh, now that's the best part. i love your work. [ female announcer ] phillips' colon health. in the wake of president obama's election, journalist michele norris wrote out to write a book about race in america. she realized the conversation within her own family had not been forthright. the book she'd planned became her own memoir. it's called "the grace of silence." joining me now is michele norris. thank you for joining us. >> i'm so glad to be here. >> i think everyone should have this book, black or white. it's so true. your story and joyour journey a the title plays right into your father. how hard was it to go from writing about president to turning the spotlight on your beloved father?

>> i knew there was this interesting conversation. what i realized is in my own family, that there were -- that older people in my family started talking about things that they had locked away. part of that is because of this historic campaign and the election of a black president. it was this moment that they exhaled. and the stories that started pouring out included secrets that had been kept from my generation. i learned my father was shot by a police officer when he returned from his military service in birmingham, alabama. he was a veteran. he was coming back to birmingham at a time when veterans were pouring back to the city. they were eager to assert their rights. >> they thought the country would be proud of them. >> they thought the country would have changed. and the country hadn't changed. and they were trying to assert their rights, and they were -- they met this white wall of resistance. and my father was going out one night, and he was confronted by police officers. they tried to stop him. he stood up for himself, which in itself was surprising because my father was this upstanding

gentleman who i couldn't imagine ever standing up to police, but in that scuffle, he was shot in the leg. it was a superficial wound. >> and he never shared this story? >> no. >> you learned from your uncle? >> he never told my mother. my mother never knew. >> why is that? >> we put away pain and we decided not to talk about. that's one explanation. i talked to a lot of other veterans with similar experiences, who were marginalized in the military, and then marginalized when they returned to america. in some cases, faced violence because all throughout that year, 1946, black veterans were met with horrific violence across the country, cases much worse than my father's. they stopped talking about it. you know, world war ii vets don't talk about their experiences, but they had a special reason for their silence. they created a narrative about themselves that was about honor. >> you said in your book, model minorities. >> yes. they were going to be the model

minorities. they didn't talk about it. they decided that one way they would show the world what they could be was to raise a generation of children who would go out and do utmaamazing thing. they decided they were not going to arm their children with their pain. they looked forward with hope and they decided not to burden the next generation with their stories of personal woe. that's why i chose the title of the book "the grace of silence." it is an incredible act of silence too, swallow your own pain and instead send your children out into the world and arm them with your hopes and your dreams instead of your pain and your frustration. >> it is an incredible book. i think that, again, it is -- it's a history lesson, but through a personal story. i appreciate you coming on to talk with us about it. miche michele's book is "the grace of silence." thank you. a huge scandal involving a mega church pastor. money, clothes, jewelry, sex. more on the shocking allegations, coming up in a live

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she is, as you might guess, a popular ask on the campaign trail. i think she will go out and make a forceful and positive case for what this administration has done. >> that is robert gibbs talking about the not-so-secret weapon, first lady michelle obama. she's about to hit six states to help out democrats who might be in trouble. the numbers may say it all. in july, michelle obama's favorability rating was 66%. she's spoken out on obesity and other topics, but does she have the clout to do what others in the party can't? mark murray joins us from

washington, d.c. mark, you noted that mrs. obama will visit five states in your top ten senate takeover list. >> exactly. as you mentioned, in this political environment, democrats can use all the help that they can get. certainly the first lady is going to help democrats in the most competitive contests in the country. she's going into five contests starting on october 13th in wisconsin for russ feingold. she'll go to illinois. the next day, to colorado for michael bennett. and then later on to california and washington state for barbara boxer and patty murray. these are all toss-up contests. also, contests that democrats can win even in this political environment. >> we pointed out, mark, the first lady's favorability rating is at 66%. some might say that is because she has stayed out of the political fray and tackled issues like military families

and helping them and the issue of obesity. is this a risky move, putting her in such tight races? >> well, potentially. although it would be riskier to keep her out of the -- off the campaign trail, given the popularity that she has with so many democratic house and senate seats that are up for grabs, this environment. so if she decided to stay out, with that popularity, people would complain. this is why we haven't seen michelle obama until now. remember, in 2008, she was a valuable campaigner for then-candidate barack obama. and certainly we're going to see her back on the trail again. but maybe this is the reason why she's waited so long, until the final couple of weeks. >> mark murray, thank you, mark. >> thanks, tamarin. a well-known bishop at a mega church in the atlanta area is accused in a sex scandal. bishop eddie long is accused of coercing two men into sexual relationships. yesterday, 20-year-old maurice robinson and 20-year-old anthony

flagg filed a civil lawsuit against bishop long, leading of atlanta's new birth missionary baptist church. their lawyer claims long would call the men on spiritual sons and call them how important it is to follow his leadership. >> and let him know that the acts that he was engaged in were not necessarily meaning that he was a homosexual or that either of them was. but rather the pastor, bishop long, was releasing his passion. >> both of the men are former members of the church. ron mott joins us now. these men are now 20 and 21. they were much younger when this happened. >> yes. this is the talk of atlanta today. the interest is so high because eddie long is one of the most popular figures in the evangelical movement here in the southeast. as you mentioned, his mega church has 25,000 members. they're a faithful group.

a lot of them are expressive disbelief. the two men, robinson and flagg, full adults, 20 and 21 years old right now. they are suing the pastor for sexual coercion. they say that he pressured them into sex when they were still in thane teens, but over the age of 16, which is the age of consent here in georgia. long showered them with money and jewelry and cars, electronics, trips, including one to new zealand. one of the men was put on the church's payroll. a lot of this chatter today on the air waves involve whether this is a retaliation against long for an arrest that took place over the summer. one of these men was arrested for burglary at the church. eddie long is saying nothing for now. it's unfortunate that these two men have decided to take this course of action. we are hearing rumors that eddie long may address the media today. it will be well-attended. >> his membership, what is it, like 20,000 people that attend this church? and many of them high-profile people.

>> very high-profile people. largely in the african-american community here in the atlanta metro area. coretta scott-king's funeral was held here. eddie long is on tv, he sells a lot of cds and dvds. a lot of folks are saying, boy, we hope this isn't true. >> this is a civil lawsuit, not a criminal investigation. thank you very much, ron. greatly appreciate it. >> thank you. first she lost her home and now a washington, d.c. woman's possessions are outside on the sidewalk for everybody to see. a woman was evicted tuesday morning because she could no longer pay her rent. so her belongings, all of them, ended up on the sidewalk. she says she's got nowhere to go. a local storage company has offered to store her belongings for one month for free. well, those 33 miners trapped underground in chile might be rescued earlier than first thought. it's been more than eight weeks now. early predictions said they

would not be out until christmas, but now rescuers are saying it may be as early as november. we have word the miners are going to get media training to deal with the blitz of reporters who are sure to bombard them when they are finally rescued. natalie morales is live in copiapo, chilchile. >> three drills now working 24/7 to try to build this rescue tunnel to get to the miners. officials now say they're cautiously optimistic. they feel like they're making good headway for an earlier rescue. now, as i mentioned, there are three drills. plan "a," the drill has already made it more than halfway there. about 1,200 feet. plan "b," the drill operate bide an american company called center rock incorporated from pennsylvania, and they were

actually involved in the mine rescue back in 2002. they have a lot of success already. they told me that when they heard about the condition of the miners here, they told me they had to be here to help out. they knew they could make a difference. already, they have made a difference because they were the first to get their small pilot drill bit through to the chamber where the miners were late last week. that was welcomed with much celebration here, as you can imagine. already, they're at about 300 feet. it is -- they did have a minor setback last night when their drill bit fell off and into the mine, but they're back up and running again. they have a new drill bit attached and they're making progress again. plan "c," which is the big oil rig drill you see behind me, that is the most powerful, the most promising. it can drill up to 100 feet per half a day. there is hope that that may be the one that breaks through. a sign that perhaps they may be getting to the miners even closer and rescuing them closer is that they've actually -- the

navy has actually finalized the plan for the rescue capsule that will pull them out. they have ordered that capsule to be here by next week. so, tamarin, for the families here, that day cannot come soon enough. >> all right. natalie, live for us in copiapo, chile. j.lo and steven tyler are in as the "american idol" judges. michael vick becomes a starter. and what to watch tonight. let's get to "the scoop!." i heard the big announcement was going to come down. >> it did. two angels have been sent to earth to rescue "american idol." their names are jennifer lopez and steven tyler. they'll be joining randy jackson as judges on "american idol" this next season. how do i feel about it? you know, i just don't think that that's necessarily the new life that needs to be breathed into this show. >> what is then? >> they need to get back to really making american idols. it's been so long since you've

seen them foster a talent that you saw in the beginning of the auditions and turn them into something that could resemble a real artist. i would like to see that happen again. >> what's in it for j. lo and steven tyler? >> money. >> that's it? >> with all kidding aside, it's a great gig if you can get it. in turps of jennifer lopez, this only ups her profile for films, which is something she's wanted to concentrate on. also, her music career hasn't been great lately. this gives her new legitimacy there as well. also, with steven tyler, you know, they've been talking about, you know, sprlitting fro aerosmith for the longest time. this is a good second chapter for him. randy jackson -- whoops. sorry about that. randy jackson is definitely going to be the anchor for the show this season. >> from anchor to quarterback. i've got to switch topics. >> michael vick.

i know this is one you were particularly interested in. >> no, i wasn't. >> that was the memo i got, anyway. >> there's a buzz about it. some people think that he maybe shouldn't be given this chance. >> a lot of people say that. he was given this chance to be a starting quarterback last year when he joined the team. and it's a redemption story. everybody loves a redemption story. everyone loves a sports redemption story. when you can come back from anything, usually it's an injury, not a dogfighting scandal, but when you can come back from anything and perform well, people love to watch it. and ticket sales haven't suffered. the fans are back. i think it will be interesting to see if ben roethlisberger of the steelers gets this type of reception when he finally comes back. people have a very short-term memory once you start to win again. >> what should we watch tonight? >> first of all, let's get my favorite show out of the way, "modern family." last year it was a surprise hit for two or three episodes. one of the best shows on television.

the writing is fantastic. all of the actors are great. i especially love that they treat the roles that the kids have on here like adult roles. i mean, it's just so well-written. the kids -- the acting is not overacting, which you see a lot from kids. they're fantastic. tune in to that an abc. on nbc, i like "undercovers." it's a husband/wife spy duo. it's like mr. and mrs. smith with a twist. it's fantastic. people should watch that. and then finally, this is cheating a little bit because this show came out last week, but i reserve the right to cheat. "terriers" on fx. >> is it about dogs? >> it's not about dogs. it's two guys who form a private investigation, the tag is too small to fail. it's a very small private investigation company. if you don't start watching this show now, in about two weeks you'll be really behind the conversations. this show is going to catch on. the producers are producers of

"oceans 11." it's a great one to watch. >> all right. for the latest on entertainment, log on to msnbc.com. thanks. well, a british hotel kicks a couple out accusing them of writing an unfavorable review on a travel website. is that crossing the line? we'll talk about. ♪ [ female announcer ] kids who don't eat breakfast may not be getting the nutrition they need to keep their bodies strong. ♪ a nutritious start to the day is essential.

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the supreme court has rejected the appeal of a virginia woman on death row clearing the way for that state's first execution of a woman in nearly a century. theresa lewis admitted to plotting the 2002 murders of her husband and step-son to collect insurance money. she's scheduled to die tomorrow night, but lewis has been diagnosed as severely mentally disabled, and that has people in support of her saying she should not be executed. new testimony in the case of a murdered connecticut woman and her two daughters. jennifer pettitte and her two young daughters were killed in a brutal home invasion attack.

steven hayes is one of the two men accused. a state police detective testified hayes told him the plan was to rob a home but things got out of hand. jeff, there had been a delay because of the defendant's medical condition, right? >> yeah. steven hayes felt like he was having seizures, felt very light-headed, so they excused court last thursday. it was supposed to resume on monday, but the judge got sick and he was hospitalized. he's okay. the judge is back here today. court starts up again. yeah, some of the most gripping, compelling and graphic and awful testimony came from that state police detective who actually spoke with steven hayes after his arrest. he interrogated hayes. hayes, he says, came clean to him, telling him that he and his co-defendant -- the co-defendant will be tried next. steven hayes is being tried right now. they were having beers and shots

together, just before they attacked this family. they were casing out the house, saw the basement door open. that's how they got in. at one point, i'm quoting here from our producer inside the courtroom, after they beat dr. pettitte with a baseball bat four to five times, they told him, be quiet, we're only here for the muonemoney. then they found the two daughters along with jennifer pettitte, dr. pettitte's wife, tied all of them to their bedposts before, of course, taking jennifer pettitte to the bank the next morning. they terrorized this family all night, through the next morning. jennifer goes, withdraws $15,000. the family thought they'd escape because the suspects told them all along, according to prosecutors, we'll leave you alone if you pay us. they paid the suspects, but that's when they did the unthinkable. the testimony about the sexual assaults that happened inside that house, too graphic to repeat here, of course. awful to hear for dr. pettitte,

who has been sitting in the courtroom all day. and they burned the house down, killing the mother and the two kids. dr. pettitte escaped. he says he comes here to court every day to make sure justice is done. tamarin, this is a capital case. the defense -- the steven hayes defense lawyer admitted to the jury during opening statements, my client did these crimes, but they said repeatedly, and steven hayes told the detective, this was just a robbery that got out of control. they deserve life in prison and not the death penalty, but the prosecutors won't buy it. they are pushing hard for the death penalty here. >> jeff rossen, thank you. a hotel accuses a couple of writing a negative review on a website, and the hotel decides to call the police. justified action? or crossing the line? my name is vonetta, and i suffer from allergies.

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welcome back. a lot of you have been tweeting us during the hour and responding to the story we did at the top of the hour. some insurance companies say

they will not add new policies for children. those children already covered in existing policies would be continued to be covered, but new policies for children is simply too expensive. this is a way to find a loophole regarding health care reform. one patie let me know your thoughts on any of the stories we are covering today. twitter.msnbc.com. there is a lot going on today. here are some things we thought you should know. the race for governor in new york is a tight one. according to a new poll, the republican trails democrat andrew cuomo by six points. cuomo hopes his latest supporter will help. michael bloomberg announced that he is booking the democrat. and it appears beer and buds don't mix. a debate is brewing over beer and marijuana in california. see, the california beer and beverage distributors filed papers with the state announcing their intention to lobby against

proposition 19. that's a november ballot measure that would allow adults to possess and grow marijuana in california. and on to chicago. congressman jesse jackson jr. involved in a personal scandal. there are new accusations that the democrat had an affair. according to the "chicago tribune" jackson acknowledged that he disappointed his supporters. jackson, the son of jesse jackson, is on the short list of may mayoraland democr aal candidate city. well, crossing the line, you tell me. a british hotel kicked out a man who was battling cancer and his girlfriend after accusing the couple of writing a negative review of the hotel on a website. the website in question, the golden beach hotel in the seaside resort of blackpool, england. adrian healy and his girlfriend were taking a vacation.

healy said on the second day of their four-day stay, earlier this month, quote, the hotel manager banged on the door and told us to get out, accusing us of writing a review on tripadvisor. healy says, i was shocked when police arrived and we just agreed to leave. he says the hotel refused to give them a refund. the couple did not say either way whether they wrote the row vi review or not. police removed a man who had not committed a crime. hotel management, they've refused to comment. did the golden beach hotel cross the line? aren't you supposed to be able to go on these sites and review? tell me what you think. go to tamarin.msnbc.com or twitter me your responses. that wraps up this hour. i'm tamryn hall. you're watching msnbc. ♪

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team obama battling it out. there's an explosive new book

that shows divisions and sniping over the policy in afghanistan. undermining health care. reform hasn't even taken full effect, and insurers in california and other states are finding ways to keep kids off their rolls. and a confrontation 40 years in the making. >> he molested my sister and me. he molested me, too. >> molested as a boy, one man finally tracks down his tormentor and posts the results on youtube. we'll have him on live. plus, growing up schwartzeneger. the daughter of arnold and maria shriver has a new book about self-esteem, and she's here to talk about it. hello, everyone. i'm chris jansing at msnbc world headquarters in new york. the white house is rushing to downplay an explosive new book that paints the president's inner circle as a divisive bunch. "obama